If anything, “Through the Valley of Shadows” gets the award for best one-liner in Star Trek: Discovery to date when a Control-corrupted Kamran Gant (Ali Momen) dismisses Spock’s attack on him: “A Vulcan nerve pinch would be effective if I still had nerve endings.”
Aside from being refreshingly funny for Discovery, and a worthy follow-up to Spock’s “I like science” from last week’s “Perpetual Infinity,” the line speaks to the growing alignment of the show with not only canonical elements of Trek but also its spirit and sense of humor. Discovery is starting to feel like Trek to me, and “Shadows” is a breath of fresh, familiar air in what has been a largely grim, relentless, and overstuffed serving of episodes to this point.
To be fair, this season has had its share of good break-away episodes which stand on their own — like the early-season “New Eden” — and still continue to serve the larger arc of solving the mystery of the cosmic signals. But Discovery as a show has continued to struggle with taking its foot off the gas and giving the characters a chance to just be themselves in a context that doesn’t involve crisis.
While it does serve the greater story arc, “Shadows,” thankfully, is a much more measured and character-focused episode. Even the directing, which I have not been a fan of as a whole, is better paced and the editing less jarring this week.
After being a bit woefully under-served these past few episodes, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) finally gets some important screen time when he assigns himself to acquire a raw time crystal on the Klingon planet Boreth to aid in Discovery’s mission to defeat Control. The crystals are being protected by Klingons who have been tasked with guarding the powerful minerals.
In the meantime, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Spock (Ethan Peck) investigate a Section 31 ship that has deviated from its reporting protocol. The two find the crew of that ship dead except Lt. Gant, who previously served with Burnham on the USS Shenzhou. Burnham and Spock soon discover that Gant has been assimilated — er, I mean “turned” — by Control.
The fight scene with Gant is a vast improvement on last week’s laughably-long confrontation with Leland. It’s also hard not to ignore the possibility that, yes, this could all be a big set up for the Borg – but I’m withholding my full opinion at this time, mostly because it’s just to easy to go there. It becomes a little too hard to swallow that everything consequential in the great Trek master plan would begin and end with this crew and this character, Burnham, and that goes for the Borg.
I don’t mind an origin story, possibly, but having it all begin with Section 31 is just a little too convenient.
Nevertheless, Ali Momen’s return as Gant is chillingly effective in the corrupted role — and kudos too to Sonequa Martin-Green and Ethan Peck. It’s so nice to see their characters’ sibling relationship continue to strengthen, and credit needs to be given to the writers and producers for finding quiet moments this late in the season for the two to talk and reflect.
On the subject of quiet moments, some ink needs to given to that oddly-superfluous lunch scene featuring some the bridge crew, as well as Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Jett Reno (Tig Notaro, back after many weeks away). It works so well that it makes you wonder why more of these types of scenes haven’t existed in the show up to now, especially when their placement earlier in the year could have helped the character build-up of Airiam (Hannah Cheesman) before her departure in “Project Daedalus.”
It’s also such a joy to see Tig Notaro as Reno again, especially as she shows some less-acerbic humanity in her conversation with Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) where she shares some of her personal history with relationships and loss. It would be great to see her in a larger role next season, but let’s not make her too nice too soon.
When Ensign Ro exclaimed “I was wrong” in the fifth season Star Trek The Next Generation episode “Disaster,” you knew her days as a defiant and tortured character were over far too early. Let’s not have that repeated here, even if her compassion is well placed on helping to nudge Culber back towards Stamets.
It’s tempting to pick apart that part of the episode that deals with Pike and Tenavik (Kenneth Mitchell) and Pike’s acquisition of the time crystal. Star Trek has always taken liberties with time, and there have been more than a few characters over the years who’ve have aged quickly or de-aged in the convenient service of a 40-minute story.
But I can’t help wonder about the implications for Tenavik in terms of his longevity if the crystals are able to speed up his age.
What are the implications for Discovery in this regard now that they are the new “protectors” of a crystal. The implications for Pike are more obvious: he should now have renewed resolve and confidence with his immediate mission since he knows, based on his vision, that he will make it through and not be killed… but he will find himself trapped in the eventual fate we’ve known is in his future, disfigured and powerless after barely surviving the onslaught of delta radiation.
With two episodes left this season, we are keenly aware that Pike’s involvement with Discovery is coming to an end, and that’s unfortunate. He has been a welcome addition to the season as Lorca’s replacement. “Shadows” at the very least lets us know that everyone, including Pike, have had a part to play in the overall mission, no matter how small that part may have been.
That’s it for “Through the Valley of Shadows,” now it’s time for your take on this week’s episode! Share your thoughts in the comments below, and then watch for more updates on “Such Sweet Sorrow,” the next episode of Star Trek: Discovery, as we approach next Thursday.